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Still haven't heard from Steven Malk, and it's been about eight weeks. Think it's safe to cross him off and move on to another WH agent? Or should I (shudder) requery him? Or wait another month to be safe?

Do you know what you are? You are a manuscript of a divine letter. You are a mirror reflecting a noble face. This universe is not outside of you. Look inside yourself; everything that you want, you are already that ...~ Rumi

I can't access my database right now, but when I queried her last year, I recall getting a response in the usual time frame. I don't think it was more than six weeks (maybe less). Form rejection, natch. I plan on querying her for my current project as well. Hope that helps!

Has anyone received one of Dan's "lightning-quick" responses lately? I sent him an e-query yesterday and got zilch, nada, the big zero in response.

Now, admittedly I'm spoiled after hearing all these wonderful testimonials where he seemingly instantaneously replied to so many.

I think--as a newbie--the feeling of uncertainty that plagues me is the hardest part of this process for me. I would much rather receive an instant rejection than suffer an interminable wait which results in delusions where I picture said potential agent still weighing the options of potentially representing me.

Yeah, some agents have a pretty quick turnaround (anywhere from 5 minutes to a week I'd call fast turnaround), and others will send you a response a couple of months after you query them.

Personally, I go about the process by querying those agents that fit and accept email queries first, and those that fit and accept only snail mail second. Instead of sending out queries in large batches, I submit a few queries at a time with a smaller interval between them.

I find that my proposal package evolves over time and, generally, gets better as I occassionally take a new stab at the synopsis or query letter or simply touch up portions of it.

Personally, I go about the process by querying those agents that fit and accept email queries first, and those that fit and accept only snail mail second.

I did e-query Dan because of the various comments I read here pertaining to the reportedly expedient manner in which he submits his responses; however, I emailed him yesterday and received nothing in return. If we were speaking of any other agent, I would be a bit hestitant to express my concerns given the brief duration of time that has elapsed since I sent my initial query. That said, I am now perplexed as to whether I should resend said query or simply perceive his absence of a reply as a thinly-veiled rejection.

I did e-query Dan because of the various comments I read here pertaining to the reportedly expedient manner in which he submits his responses; however, I emailed him yesterday and received nothing in return. If we were speaking of any other agent, I would be a bit hestitant to express my concerns given the brief duration of time that has elapsed since I sent my initial query. That said, I am now perplexed as to whether I should resend said query or simply perceive his absence of a reply as a thinly-veiled rejection.

Even agents get sick or have days off. He might be on vacation for a week or more. He might have hit a particularly busy time.

I don't think there's any reason to consider it a thinly veiled rejection. There are a lot more reasonable alternatives. Just because he normally rejects in a few hours doesn't mean anything.

At best, he didn't see anything that would automatically kick it out. Perhaps he decided it needed further review. That would be a good thing. I would not resubmit.

A day in the Query Universe is like one second in a 24-hour span. Definitely, definitely, definitely do not resend a day-old query because you haven't received a response. You are in the query process now. Abandon every concept of duration you've ever held and embrace the one we understaters like to call "slow."

Just because he replied to some people in record time doesn't mean he'll respond to your query within a few hours. Maybe he's having lunch with an editor today, finishing work on a project for a client, out of town(this is a major vacation time for editors and agents, downtime in the industry). Maybe he's sick or taking a day off, or sleeping late.

It's kind of crazy to even suggest requerying the guy after one day. That's kind of like punishing him for being fast. If he replies within the next two weeks, you can still consider him super fast. If he doesn't reply in a month, then maybe requery, that's still way less than the standard 3 months that people wait.

Bethany

The Fall~ Greenwillow ~ 2014- A literary psychological thriller/retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher. Starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal www.bethanygriffin.com

@Pisarz and Roger: Thank you for helping a newbie writer gain some perspective on the issue via some much needed objectivity.

Originally Posted by bethany

It's kind of crazy to even suggest requerying the guy after one day. That's kind of like punishing him for being fast. If he replies within the next two weeks, you can still consider him super fast. If he doesn't reply in a month, then maybe requery, that's still way less than the standard 3 months that people wait.

While I do consider the process of agent-hunting unhinging at best, I wouldn't label a fellow scribe crazy--tad bit of a harsh moniker--for considering the possibilty of re-querying an agent who has proven in the past that he responds rather quickly.

I'm sorry that you find that moniker harsh. I actually find the level of pushiness that would make you feel it was appropriate to requery an agent in less than 24 hours somewhat disrepectful, so perhaps that is why I came across as harsh. While you will find that I called your suggestion crazy, not you a fellow writer, I apologize if you were offended.

Maybe what looks like disrespect to me is enthusiasm, but calm down a little bit, take a deep breath. Querying requires patience and a thick skin.

Good luck. WH is the best.

Last edited by bethany; 08-14-2007 at 09:12 PM.

Bethany

The Fall~ Greenwillow ~ 2014- A literary psychological thriller/retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher. Starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal www.bethanygriffin.com

The artist side of you needs to be driven. The business side of you needs to be patient. Publishing moves at a snail's pace even with modern innovations.

The artist side of you needs to be sensitive. The business side of you needs to develop a thick skin. There will always be criticism and rejection, much of which will feel unfair. For your own emotional health, you need to develop the ability to shrug it off.

Well, if you put in a resume for a job and you hadn't heard back in 24 hours, would you stop by and put in another resume? Publishing is way slower than filling a job that needs an immediate warm body.

I don't know anything about your experience or lack of experience other than the last three posts you've made, and I'm going to bow out of the conversation after this post.

I usually just post in the YA section since that's my area of interest, just wandered into this thread a few times to see what was up with Writers House. Good Luck again. Is this your first query? If so send a few more out into the world, it'll give you a few more eggs in the basket and you'll have less to obsess over.

Bethany

The Fall~ Greenwillow ~ 2014- A literary psychological thriller/retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher. Starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal www.bethanygriffin.com

@Bethany: I wrote you a PM. Thank you for your analogy--it was quite helpful and I hope that you are NOT dissuaded from writing in this forum. BTW, I agree that WH is the dream, which I guess is why this particular [potential] rejection stings more than most.

@Roger: As always, I am grateful for your suggestions. (But, I'm sure you already knew that. LoL) Thank you for your most recent sage-induced bits, they came off as rather poetic. =)

Has anyone received one of Dan's "lightning-quick" responses lately? I sent him an e-query yesterday and got zilch, nada, the big zero in response.

I have a feeling that Dan's not reading his own queries anymore, or something. I sent one to him and didn't get a response for a month, I think. I was thinking the same thing you are, Maybe I should resend. He always has the quickest reponses, the longest I've found being three days. I ended up resending my query and heard back (rejection) a couple of days later. The weird thing was that it came from some other person, who works for Dan, and not Dan himself.

So maybe there are some changes happening at Writers House, or at least with Dan. I definitely wouldn't think about requering yet. I definitely understand your hope for a quick reponse, but you don't want to seem impatient (even though we all are! lol) Wait about a month, I'd say. Then requery. Before that, just hope that he's just so into your idea he doesn't know what to do with himself.

Thanks for your message, Victoria. I hope to see you over in YA/Childrens sometime.

As for posting over here, I don't usually have much to add to this section. I will put in another plug for my agent since I know she's actively looking for writers, by saying that even if Dan's gotten slow, Maya's still super fast! But for the next few weeks she might not be. I do think everyone in publishing is on vacation or half days or something until after labor day!

Bethany

The Fall~ Greenwillow ~ 2014- A literary psychological thriller/retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher. Starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal www.bethanygriffin.com

As for posting over here, I don't usually have much to add to this section. I will put in another plug for my agent since I know she's actively looking for writers, by saying that even if Dan's gotten slow, Maya's still super fast! But for the next few weeks she might not be. I do think everyone in publishing is on vacation or half days or something until after labor day!

Maya's at the top of my list of agents to query. I have a query out with Rebecca Sherman at the moment, but I'll probably hear back soon.

Question for you bethany (hope you see this), Do you know if Maya is interested in urban fantasy for YA? I know she likes fantasy, and she'll do contemporary (like your novel, which sounds amazing) but I can't find her feelings about urban fantasy. Is there something you think she'd rather see first?

Hey, thanks for the compliment! I'm right in the middle of revisions so sometimes the book doesn't seem as awesome as it did when I had just written it!

I don't know if she particularly likes urban fantasy. More than the genres she likes she usually mentions the writing/voice. She also would love to see high concept things, I think. I personally can't seem to write high concept to save my life, but I'm good enough at writing hooks that my books usually sound high concept, sort of.

She's really perceptive and very hands on, but I do know good writers who she's turned down. As always it's about finding the right fit, you know?

Bethany

The Fall~ Greenwillow ~ 2014- A literary psychological thriller/retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher. Starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal www.bethanygriffin.com

I did e-query Dan because of the various comments I read here pertaining to the reportedly expedient manner in which he submits his responses; however, I emailed him yesterday and received nothing in return. If we were speaking of any other agent, I would be a bit hestitant to express my concerns given the brief duration of time that has elapsed since I sent my initial query. That said, I am now perplexed as to whether I should resend said query or simply perceive his absence of a reply as a thinly-veiled rejection.

It might not be an option in all cases, but maybe when you submit e-queries you can go to your tool bar and click on Tools and select Read Receipt.

When the agent opens his Incoming messages and clicks on yours, a box will pop up letting him know you request a receipt. Yes and No are the available options. Maybe he'll be courteous and click on Yes, which will automatically send a receipt directly to you. When you receive the receipt you'll know your submission made it to the point of destination and was one step from being opened for consideration.

Of course if the recipient clicks No, you'll continue to be left wondering whether or not the message was received and read, or whether the recipient might be away from his desk or out of the office for a period of time.